The invention relates to a branching circuit for an optical cable comprising a plurality of optical waveguides in a cable sheath.
When in installed optical cables comprising a plurality of optical waveguides, at least one of these optical waveguides must be branched out to form a branching circuit, a considerable free length of this optical waveguide must be available to enable connection to the branched out optical waveguide or to the optical waveguide cable, respectively, to avoid, during mounting of a connector device or when a splice connection is made, bending the ends of the optical waveguide, which are sensitive to mechanical loads, to an impermissible degree.
It is also possible, as is customary for electric cables, to sever the optical cable in the branch point. According to this technique all of the optical waveguides must then be laid bare at both cable ends through a corresponding length, by removing the cable sleeve. Thereafter, the optical waveguides which will not be branched off must again be connected to a junction point. These numerous junction points require a significant mounting cost and cause additional attenuations.